The Rainy Day Closet

Somewhere in the last four years (it's really all very much a blur) I discovered Sarah Ban Breathnach's delightful book, Mrs. Sharp's Traditions, which gives readers a peek into the world of Victorian house-holding, holidays and family traditions.

Among the many helpful and creative suggestions for enjoying family life is the "rainy day closet" -- a collection of books, toys, art supplies etc. that are ONLY enjoyed on rainy days.

While reading the book, I noted which closet I would use to create our own rainy day closet, and began collecting various items to tuck inside, with the hopes of someday organizing them into a fun collection.

But major organizational projects, especially ones that involve toys, are not exactly toddler-friendly activities, and once kids are sleeping, I usually have little energy, and even less creativity to tackle a project like this.

So this morning, while my kids were at my parents, before I even looked at my to-do list, I decided today is that "someday"!!

Here's the closet before:



And after:



Here are some of the things I've included...

Mama's Mystery Box: Various odds and ends, little battery-operated toys, bubble wrap, an inflatable beach ball etc.

Art Supplies: Pipe cleaners, pom-poms, googly eyes, stick-on foam pieces, and Color Wonder-type painting kits (the mystery chemicals involved in this "mess free" painting scare me a bit for regular use, but occasionally on a rainy day, they are a lot of fun).

Sewing & Lacing: Wooden beads, animal shaped lacing cards etc.

Rainy Day Books and Friends: A small, but growing, collection of books about rainy days and stuffed friends and puppets to enjoy them with!

Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head: Lots of open-ended, creative fun, but the tiny plastic pieces are more than I can handle on a daily basis, which makes the Potatoes perfect for a rainy day!

Farm Friends: A Leap Pad refrigerator toy. Requires batteries, sings two songs over-and-over and has little pieces that spend more time on the floor than on the fridge -- a shoe-in for the Rainy Day Closet.

Elmo: A hand-me-down giggling, plastic Elmo that I almost culled before my children saw it. I'm glad I didn't. He's PERFECT for a rainy day!

And lastly, Harvey the Bunny - our Rainy Day mascot who plays "Singing in the Rain" and dances. Harvey (no idea how we came up with that name) was a $2 consignment store score!

Yay! I don't think I've ever looked forward to rainy days as much as I am now!